Once his new deal is signed, David Pastrnak will likely be thanking Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl.

On Wednesday, former Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli inked Draisaitl, the third overall pick of the 2014 NHL Draft, to an 8-year contract with an AAV of $8.5 million per season.

With a little under a month left until the start of Training Camp, GM Don Sweeney and the Bruins will have a better idea of what the Pastrnak camp – headed by agent J.P. Barry – might be thinking. In just a few short years, Pastrnak, selected 25th overall in 2014, and Draisaitl assembled a similar trajectory in their development.

Both Draisaitl (137 career points on 57 goals and 80 assists) and Pastrnak (123 points on 59 goals and 64 assists) are coming off career years with 70-plus point seasons and are the top two scorers in the aforementioned 2014 draft. Both are seen as important cogs to their respective teams’ futures with Draisaitl flanking superstar Connor McDavid and Pastrnak forming a formidable top-six with the likes of Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.

With Pastrnak’s comparable signed north of the border, the talented Czech sits alone as the most notable RFA left without a new contract to date. The negotiations no doubt will add another layer to the discussion table as Pastrnak’s group seeks a lucrative, long-term contract for their client.

Other discussion topics, like lockout-proof salary, will have to be ironed out between the two camps. Instead of the original projection of $6-$8 million, it wouldn’t be surprising for Pastrnak’s camp suggest a figure of at least $7.5 million, which would make him the highest paid Bruin.

Sweeney and company will have to pay up. But the Bruins GM sees Pastrnak as one of the important members of the team’s core and he made that a fact when he released a three-word statement to The Boston Globe via email amidst all the trade rumors.

On Wednesday during NESN’s and WEEI’s Jimmy Fund Telethon, CEO Charlie Jacobs confirmed the Bruins’ intentions in keeping Pastrnak and signing him long-term.

Charlie Jacobs says there’s no intent to trade Pastrnak. Says the intent is to re-sign him to long-term deal. “Six or more years.”

— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) August 16, 2017

Whether or not the Bruins and Pastrnak come to terms before the start of training camp – less than one month away – is anyone’s guess. Draisaitl’s contract will give both camps something to think about.

Pastrnak will get that lucrative, long-term contract. It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when.